Comment by whimsicalism
1 day ago
A national ID system (standard in effectively all European countries) is table stakes for state capacity. I find the RealID opposition baffling.
1 day ago
A national ID system (standard in effectively all European countries) is table stakes for state capacity. I find the RealID opposition baffling.
The major European exception being the UK, which doesn't issue identity cards and somehow manages. (Apparently Andorra doesn't either.)
You might consider it part of the Anglosphere mentality as Canada, the US, Australia, the Bahamas, and New Zealand don't have national ID.
I've never understood the problem that RealID is supposed to solve.
How is it TSA can accept a Veteran Health Identification Card or photo identification card issued by a federally recognized tribe, and the passports from every country in the world, but not a state-issued ID which is not REAL ID-compliant?
> The major European exception being the UK, which doesn't issue identity cards and somehow manages.
You have to bring in loads of other random documents to get a passport, for example: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44408872
To reliably prove your age (e.g. in a store or a concert venue), you have to get a provisional driving license. If you are not qualified (maybe still disqualified to drive, or eyesight problems), tough luck, I'm not aware of any other government-issued photo ID in the UK. Foreigners previously had BRPs, but they are not issued since 2025, everything is electronic now.
There is also the "PASS" scheme where private providers (like banks) can issue plastic cards with photos, but I've heard they are regularly rejected by various venues as proof of age and/or identity, there is no legal requirement to accept them, just a recommendation. And I can imagine non-UK entities care about these about as much as they do about ISIC. TSA was definitely unhappy when I tried using ISIC about ten years ago for a US domestic flight.
>How is it TSA can accept a Veteran Health Identification Card or photo identification card issued by a federally recognized tribe, and the passports from every country in the world, but not a state-issued ID which is not REAL ID-compliant?
They can only accept them before IDs are implemented of course, as a poor substitute. After national id documents are standardised, it's just them, nothing else counts.
In the US, we like to reduce state capacity. Helps limit the damage bad actors can do when they are in power.
And how's that been working out for you?
Not asking whether "reducing state capacity" helps with that. Asking how's that "reducing" going.
Yeah, I'm also curious.
The USA has one of the biggest and most convoluted systems of government in the world, one of the only few where people actually need lawyers to navigate it.
Except such a federal ID already exists: the Passport Card. Make it free to obtain and mandatory to use.
Passport card can be revoked over fairly small amounts of late child support which applies to a surprisingly large portion of America, particularly historically oppressed minorities. It would be quite foolish to rely on that for identification if you have children as a simple divorce could put you in instant arrears and cause you to lose your ID.
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This seems deeply delusional at this point.
As delusional as thinking the 2nd amendment will help "limit the damage bad actors can do when they are in power".
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